Bruno Zuculini (born 2 April 1993) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Racing Club.
 Zuculini with River Plate in 2019 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Bruno Zuculini[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 2 April 1993 | ||
| Place of birth | Belén de Escobar, Argentina | ||
| Height | 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)[2] | ||
| Position(s) | Central midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Racing Club | ||
| Number | 36 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Racing Club | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2010–2014 | Racing Club | 92 | (10) |
| 2014–2017 | Manchester City | 0 | (0) |
| 2014–2015 | → Valencia (loan) | 1 | (0) |
| 2015 | → Córdoba (loan) | 8 | (0) |
| 2015–2016 | → Middlesbrough (loan) | 5 | (0) |
| 2016 | → AEK Athens (loan) | 4 | (0) |
| 2016–2017 | → Rayo Vallecano (loan) | 9 | (0) |
| 2017 | → Hellas Verona (loan) | 16 | (1) |
| 2017–2018 | Hellas Verona | 16 | (2) |
| 2018–2024 | River Plate | 85 | (4) |
| 2024– | Racing Club | 12 | (1) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2011 | Argentina U20 | 8 | (2) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 15:04, 26 April 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 20 May 2014 | |||
Club career
Racing Club
Born in Belén de Escobar, Zuculini graduated from Racing Club's youth setup. He made his first-team debut on 13 February 2010, starting in a 1–0 away loss against Gimnasia La Plata for the Argentine Primera División championship, and aged only 16.[3]
Zuculini appeared in further six matches during the campaign, and also played 12 during 2011–12. On 17 June 2012, he scored his first professional goal, but in a 4–2 away loss against Atlético de Rafaela.[4]
In the 2012–13 season, after the departures of Giovanni Moreno and Lucas Nahuel Castro, Zuculini was an ever-present figure for the Avellaneda side, appearing in 32 matches and scoring five goals. On 27 September 2013 he renewed his link with the club, running until 2016.[5]
Manchester City
On 23 July 2014, Zuculini scored the opening goal of Manchester City's pre-season match against Sporting Kansas City.[6] On 8 August, he was officially confirmed as a City player, being assigned the number 36 shirt.[7]
Zuculini made his competitive debut two days later in the 2014 FA Community Shield, replacing Yaya Touré after 60 minutes of an eventual 3–0 defeat to Arsenal at Wembley Stadium.[8]On 10 July 2015, it was confirmed that he would be in the club's squad for their pre-season tour in Australia.[9]
Valencia (loan)
On 19 August 2014, Zuculini was loaned to La Liga's Valencia CF in a season-long deal.[10] He made his debut in the competition on 29 August 2014, coming on at half time for André Gomes in a 3–0 home win against Málaga CF.[11]
On 30 January 2015, Zuculini's loan was rescinded, after appearing just 45 minutes for the Che.[12]
Córdoba (loan)
Hours after rescinding with Valencia, Zuculini joined fellow league team Córdoba CF on loan until June.[13] The team were relegated in last place in the league,[citation needed] and Spanish newspaper Marca named him in their worst team of the season.[14]
Middlesbrough (loan)
Following loan spells in Spain, Zuculini made his first loan move to an English club on 26 October 2015 as he joined Championship club Middlesbrough on a month-long loan.[15]
On 25 November 2015, the loan was extended to 2 January 2016.
AEK Athens (loan)
Zuculini was on loan at AEK Athens until the end of the 2016 Greek Superleague campaign.[16] On 4 February 2016, he made his debut with the club, in an away 1–0 win against Iraklis at Kaftanzoglio Stadium for Greek Cup helping his club to advance to semi finals.[17]On 23 February 2016, Argentine midfielder Zuculini suffered a serious fracture injury in the metatarsal and had to return to England in order to undergo surgery.[18]
Rayo Vallecano (loan)
Zuculini signed on loan for Rayo Vallecano until the end of the 2016–17 Segunda División campaign.[19] On 17 January, after only nine league matches, his loan was cut short and he joined his brother at Verona.[20]
Hellas Verona
After spending the second half of the 2016–17 on loan at Hellas Verona, Zuculini signed a permanent deal with the club on 11 July 2017.[21]
Personal life
Zuculini's older brother Franco is also a footballer and a midfielder. He too was groomed at Racing Club, with both playing together in 2011.[22]
Career statistics
- As of match played 20 April 2023[23]
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Racing Club | 2009–10 | Primera División | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 7 | 0 | |||
| 2010–11 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 12 | 0 | |||||
| 2011–12 | 15 | 1 | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | 19 | 1 | |||||
| 2012–13 | 32 | 5 | 0 | 0 | — | 2[a] | 0 | — | 34 | 5 | ||||
| 2013–14 | 26 | 4 | 0 | 0 | — | 2[a] | 0 | — | 27 | 4 | ||||
| Total | 92 | 10 | 4 | 0 | — | 4 | 0 | — | 100 | 10 | ||||
| Manchester City | 2014–15 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[b] | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2015–16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | |||
| Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Valencia (loan) | 2014–15 | La Liga | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | |||
| Córdoba (loan) | 2014–15 | La Liga | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 8 | 0 | |||
| Middlesbrough (loan) | 2015–16 | Championship | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 6 | 0 | ||
| AEK (loan) | 2015–16 | Superleague | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 4 | 0 | ||
| Rayo Vallecano (loan) | 2016–17 | Segunda División | 9 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 11 | 0 | |||
| Verona (loan) | 2016–17 | Serie B | 16 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 16 | 1 | |||
| Verona | 2017–18 | Serie A | 16 | 2 | 2 | 1 | — | — | — | 18 | 3 | |||
| River Plate | 2017–18 | Primera División | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 6[c] | 0 | 1[d] | 0 | 15 | 0 | |
| 2018–19 | 14 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2[e] | 0 | 4[c] | 0 | 3[f] | 1 | 25 | 1 | ||
| 2019–20 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2[c] | 0 | 1[d] | 0 | 10 | 0 | ||
| 2020–21 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4[c] | 2 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 3 | ||
| 2021 | 23 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3[c] | 0 | 1[g] | 0 | 27 | 2 | ||
| 2022 | 14 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4[c] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 1 | ||
| 2023 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Total | 74 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 23 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 111 | 7 | ||
| Career total | 223 | 16 | 16 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 27 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 276 | 21 | ||
Honours
AEK Athens
River Plate
References
External links
- Bruno Zuculini at BDFutbol
- Bruno Zuculini at ESPN FC
- (in Spanish) Argentine Primera statistics at Futbol XXI